CHAPEL HILL - For the past three years, North Carolina linebacker Cedric Gray has been the face of the Tar Heel defense. Gray led UNC in tackles each of the last three seasons, earned two first-team All-ACC selections, and was a second-team All-American in 2022 and Butkus Award semifinalist in 2023.

Now, as Gray prepares to embark on his NFL career, first-year defensive coordinator Geoff Collins and the Carolina defense are tasked with replacing the production and leadership of the All-American.

For the Tar Heels, that starts with senior linebacker Power Echols, who finished the 2023 season second on the team in tackles with 102 and as a third-team All-ACC selection. Echols has now played under three different defensive coordinators during his time in Chapel Hill, but believes the scheme under Collins will help not only his game, but the defense as a whole.

“For the most part, I feel like we’ve grown a lot,” said Echols. “Coach Collins allows us to play with a chip on our shoulder, play free, and play loose.”

Growth has been a common theme for Echols during his three seasons in Chapel Hill. From his sophomore campaign in 2022 to this past season, Echols’ PFF grade improved from 62.2 to 78.6, while his run defense grade jumped 24 points. He continues looking to get better.

“Improving each and every day, improving where my feet are, and improving each and every day in terms of scheme, in terms of technique, in terms of eye discipline,” he said. “And just bettering myself and improving my stock and improving myself.”

His improvement has garnered compliments from Collins, who when asked about the new voice of the defense, had an answer without hesitation.

“Power Echols,” Collins replied. “He’s awesome. He’s the one that breaks the defense down at the end of every meeting. He works so hard, he’s so driven, [and] he’s so focused.”

Echols even orchestrated a ‘Happy Birthday’ rendition for Collins in April, serving as the voice of the defense even off the field.

Collins credits Echols and edge rusher Kaimon Rucker for dictating the mentality, the mindset, and the focus of the defense early in his stint under Mack Brown.

As Echols plans to anchor both the linebacker room and defense for UNC, the biggest question mark lies in his reinforcements. Outside of Echols, who recorded 899 snaps in 13 games, no other returning linebacker tallied more than 130.

Sophomore Amare Campbell steps into the other role after appearing in 11 contests last fall. He finished the season making his first career start against West Virginia in the Mayo Bowl, where he tallied four tackles and secured a tackle-for-loss in 58 snaps.

In limited action, the former 3-star prospect has made a strong impression on his teammates.

“We all know he’s special, he will be special,” senior defensive lineman Jahvaree Ritzie said about Campbell. “And it’s like he keeps showing it every day that he’s going to be a special dude.”

Campbell’s production included just 14 total tackles, one sack, and one interception, but in the eyes of Echols, his play does not mirror that of an underclassmen.

“He’s more of a young veteran. He’s a rookie but he’s a vet,” said Echols. “He’s way ahead of the game in terms of the scheme and doing everything. He’s a great player and he’s going to be a great player for years to come.”

While Campbell is entrenched as the other starter alongside Echols, fierce competition for the second-team spots will continue when fall camp begins.

“I feel like every single one of them has made strides. We’ve all got great players in our rooms,” said Echols. “I’d say Mike Short; Caleb Lavallee; Ashton Woods, the freshman that’s just come here; Cade Law. All those guys, each and every day they do great things and get better each day. You’ll never see them make the same mistake twice.”

Law’s younger brother, 3-star linebacker Crews Law, will get a healthy look in August, as well.

Short, a 6-foot, 230-pound sophomore, was a key member on special teams, seeing action in all 13 games, while Lavallee appeared in four contests at linebacker. Lavallee, a redshirt freshman, stands at 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds, and was a 4-star recruit in the class of 2023.

Ashton Woods, an early enrollee for the 2024 recruiting class, enters the collegiate ranks as a four-star prospect and the nation’s 17th-best linebacker according to Rivals.

Both Law and Woods have seen time at inside linebacker as part of the second-team defense this offseason.

UNC Coach Mack Brown was anxious to see them practice and play in the spring, and is again when fall camp opens a month before the first game at Minnesota on August 29.

“I also want to see the linebackers,” Brown said. “We’ve got Power , who’s played a lot, Amare, who’s played some. And then the other guys haven’t played. So, I want to see them play. That’s why we’ve got to tackle.”

In total, seven scholarship linebackers are on the roster, six of whom have experience at the collegiate level. Echols is the lone upperclassman at the position, highlighting the room’s youth and inexperience.

As Carolina is tasked with replacing the production of Gray and adjusting to a new scheme under Collins, the message remains the same for both the returnees and newcomers: play smart and play tough.

“It’s not a big difference,” said Echols. “It’s the same thing: be leaders of the defense, play with an edge, and make plays, get everybody lined up in the correct alignment, play smart and play tough.”

The first chance to exemplify that smartness and toughness will come on Aug. 29 in the season-opener against Minnesota.